The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers submitted 578 WARN Act notices in March 2017, putting at risk an estimated 37,590 workers — up substantially from February and up 5% versus March 2016. Filings came from 36 states and territories, with an average of 65 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| California | 134 | 9,220 |
| Washington | 10 | 2,992 |
| Florida | 56 | 2,898 |
| Michigan | 12 | 2,786 |
| New York | 35 | 2,629 |
| Texas | 52 | 2,577 |
| Tennessee | 10 | 1,734 |
| New Jersey | 20 | 1,214 |
| Indiana | 15 | 1,049 |
| Virginia | 16 | 1,036 |
| Pennsylvania | 8 | 974 |
| Georgia | 17 | 825 |
| Utah | 8 | 820 |
| Wisconsin | 10 | 754 |
| Maryland | 22 | 748 |
| Kansas | 11 | 704 |
| Mississippi | 6 | 653 |
| Iowa | 4 | 524 |
| Ohio | 10 | 498 |
| North Carolina | 3 | 442 |
| Missouri | 10 | 338 |
| Nebraska | 38 | 324 |
| South Carolina | 2 | 322 |
| Colorado | 8 | 270 |
| Vermont | 7 | 237 |
| Connecticut | 12 | 200 |
| Montana | 2 | 160 |
| Oklahoma | 5 | 137 |
| Nevada | 1 | 124 |
| Oregon | 2 | 124 |
| Arizona | 5 | 120 |
| West Virginia | 2 | 117 |
| Maine | 2 | 22 |
| Idaho | 3 | 18 |
| Illinois | 17 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 3 | 0 |
California led the nation with 9,220 workers affected across 134 notices , followed by Washington (2,992 workers) and Florida (2,898 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | 154 | 2,894 |
| Information & Technology | 26 | 2,400 |
| Accommodation & Food | 13 | 2,187 |
| Healthcare | 20 | 1,855 |
| Manufacturing | 31 | 1,765 |
| Transportation | 14 | 1,758 |
| Other | 22 | 1,271 |
| Finance & Insurance | 15 | 890 |
| Professional Services | 12 | 682 |
| Education | 7 | 435 |
The Retail sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 2,894 workers across 154 notices. Separately, Information & Technology reported 2,400 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 176 | 9,957 |
| Layoff | 95 | 9,838 |
| Temporary Closure | 1 | 236 |
Closures accounted for 27% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| GM - Lansing Ass'y (Delta) | Lansing, Michigan | 1,146 | Layoff |
| General Motors | Lansing, Michigan | 1,146 | |
| Menzies Aviation | SeaTac, Washington | 949 | Layoff |
| Menzies Aviation | SeaTac, Washington | 949 | |
| Aramark | Tallahassee, Florida | 899 | |
| General Dynamics IT-Waco | Waco, Texas | 840 | |
| Paramedics Plus, LLC | San Leandro, California | 465 | Closure |
| North Coast Rehab, Inc | Fountain Valley, California | 465 | Closure |
| North Coast Rehab, Inc | Fountain Valley, California | 465 | Closure |
| Northrop Grumman Technology | Fort Irwin, California | 462 | Layoff |
Topping the list was GM - Lansing Ass'y (Delta) in Lansing, Michigan, reporting 1,146 affected workers. General Motors followed with 1,146 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
These figures highlight mounting pressure on the the nation labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Retail sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in March 2017. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers with 100+ employees to provide 60-day advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closings. Data is sourced from official state filings and updated daily by WARN Firehose. Download the full dataset or explore state-by-state data.
Get weekly layoff reports in your inbox
Free weekly digest of WARN Act filings and analysis.
